On the eve of one of the brightest Christian holidays in Bulgaria- the feast of Saints Sophia, Hope, Faith and Love and the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah- (the year 5775 in the Jewish Calendar) the Embassy of Israel in Bulgaria started a charity and humanitarian campaign aimed at providing assistance to the people who were affected by the recent floods in the town of Miziya and the village of Krushovitsa in Northwestern Bulgaria. The campaign is named Warm Heart and is part of Do Good initiative of the Organization of Jews in Bulgaria-Shalom carried out for the first time in 2008 on occasion of the 65^th anniversary since the salvation of the Bulgarian Jews.

“Israel provides assistance to every country in need, bur of course our feelings towards Bulgaria are warmer and more personal”, his Excellency Shaul Kamisa-Raz told Radio Bulgaria. Shalom, together with the Bulgarian Red Cross, Bulgarian and Israeli hospitals, doctors and private companies, will help the people who suffered the calamities with water, food, beverages, dairy products, bags, school appliances, shovels and cleaning materials. The campaign ends on Thursday evening, September 18, on Miziya town square. In his words, the assistance provided to the needy is not huge, but comes on time and is accompanied with lots of love and compassion. More from Ambassador Shaul Kamisa-Raz:

“The power of the assistance is measured by the kindness of the given donation. The essence of the donation is what matters the most. We are driven by the understanding that it is right to help other people in need. Otherwise, a wealthy man could show up and say: Here is USD 100,000, take it! However, the value of this money can not be compared to the one granted by people with less financial opportunities who do it from the bottom of their hearts. That is why we named the campaign Warm Heart. This is the power and the dimension of our donation”

His Excellency Shaul Kamisa-Raz stressed on the gratefulness of the Jewish nation towards the Bulgarians for their good deeds during the WW2. However, this is not the only reason which made Israel initiate Do Good 2014-Warm Heart Campaign.

“The ideology of Israel is to help each country, which finds itself in disastrous situation”, Ambassador Raz underlined. “Israel provides a constant humanitarian aid in conflict-stricken Syria and even in Gaza Strip. We built two hospitals-one of them near the Gaza Strip and the other one next to the border with Syria. These hospitals provide medical treatment to all wounded people and those who suffer serious injuries are sent to hospitals in our countryside”, Ambassador Shaul Kamisa-Raz specifies and adds:

“I can say that our feelings towards Bulgaria are warmer and personal. Our attitude towards Bulgaria is warmer due to our historical relations, including the fact that Bulgaria allowed its Jewish population to immigrate and return to Israel. However, I would also like to say that in the current complicated situation worldwide, Bulgaria and Israel remain strategic partners with mutual interests, which have to be maintained in the future. Our help directed to the people in distress is a sign of solidarity and friendship. We neither intend to replace the state, nor try to enter the first pages of the Bulgarian media. We know that your country does its best to overcome the consequences of the calamity. We also know that the European Union has adopted a special budget for this purpose and that Bulgaria will make everything necessary to allot this money to the right addressees. Our initiative is a charity one”, concludes His Excellency Shaul Kamisa-Raz.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov